Machine for the mechanical restoration of rare books and manuscripts

ABSTRACT

A machine for the mechanical restoration of papers and documents comprises a housing having a chamber, a screen over the upper end of the chamber for receiving the documents to be restored, a suction pump applying a vacuum to the lower face of the screen, a well overlying the screen for containing a mixture of water and the paper-restoring composition, and a hold-down member overlying the screen and movable through the well from an operative position pressing against the upper face of the document to hold it firmly against the upper face of the screen. The hold-down member is pivotable to an inoperative position, disengaged from the document and includes water-directing channels for directing the liquid adhering thereto to drain to its sides and then to the sides of the well rather than to drip downwardly onto the document in the middle of the well.

United States Patent [191 Alkalay et al.

[ Aug. 20, 1974 MACHINE FOR THE MECHANICAL RESTORATION OF RARE BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS [75] Inventors: Esther Alkalay; Eliahou Sochaczewer, both of Jerusalem, Israel [73] Assignee: Yissum Research Development Company, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel 22 Filed: Feb. 12, 1973 211 App]. No.: 331,610

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sutherland, Jr 162/382 X 3,585,106 Sepall et al. 162/387 X [5 7 ABSTRACT A machine for the mechanical restoration of papers and documents comprises a housing having a chamber, a screen over the upper end of the chamber for receiving the documents to be restored, a suction pump applying a vacuum to the lower face of the screen, a well overlying the screen for containing a mixture of water and the paper-restoring composition, and a hold-down member overlying the screen and movable through the well from an operative position pressing against the upper face of the document to hold it firmly against the upper face of the screen. The hold-down member is pivotable to an inoperative position, disengaged from the document and includes water-directing channels for directing the liquid adhering thereto to drain to its sides and then to the sides of the well rather than to drip downwardly onto the document in the middle of the well.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Basler 162/383 X MACHINE FOR THE MECHANICAL RESTORATION OF RARE BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPT S BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a machine for the mechanical restoration of documents, and pages of rare books and manuscripts. While the machine of the present invention is particularly useful for that application, it can also be used for producing sheets of paper, resembling hand-made paper according to specification, i.e., of a particular fibre content, thickness, color, etc.

A number of techniques are known for the mechanical restoration or repair of documents. The well-known classical methods involve strengthening the documents with gelatine or other solutions, or laminating same with paper, e.g., Japanese paper. Such techniques, however, demand great skill, are very slow, are particularly difficult with respect to partly disintegrated material, and/or may involve such a change in the constitution of the manuscript that its value could be affected.

Another technique involves the use of a spoon to spread an even layer of a paper fiber composition on the manuscript to fill up its holes, but this is also a slow, tedious and skill-requiring technique in which it is also extremely difficult to produce a homogeneously appearing product.

A further technique involves the placing of the document to be repaired on a screen, and then either raising the screen through a well containing the repairing composition in a mixture of water, or causing the latter composition to be sucked through the screen and document by means of a suction pump.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the latter technique for restoring documents and involves a number of new features which permit the restoration to be performed by non-skilled persons, in a fast and inexpensive manner, and producing homogeneously appearing restored documents.

According to the invention, there is provided a machine for the mechanical restoration of documents, comprising, a housing having a chamber disposed therein, a screen over the upper end of the chamber and adapted to receive the document to be restored, a suction pump communicating with the chamber for applying a vacuum to the lower face of the screen, a well or container supported by the housing and overlying the screen for containing a mixture of water and the paper-restoring composition, and a hold-down member overlying the screen and movable through the well from an operative position engaging the upper face of the document to be restored and pressing it firmly against the upper face of the screen, to an inoperative position disengaged from the document to be restored, said hold-down member being pivotable on a horizontal axis and including water-directing channels for directing the liquid adhering thereto to drain to the side of said members and then to the sides of the well when the member is moved through the well from the operative position to the inoperative position, rather than to drip downwardly onto the middle of the well, where the document is located. This eliminates the possibility of damaging the repaired document with drops of water.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention described below, the hold-down member comprises two sections each pivotably mounted on a horizontal axis at one side of the well from its inoperative position, wherein the two sections are open, to its operative position wherein the two sections are closed with their free ends in abutting relation.

According to a further feature of the invention, the hold-down member includes a plurality of spaced elongated elements extending parallel to the horizontal pivotal axis of the hold-down member, each of said elements including a lower foot and an upper foot, the lower foot of each element underlying the upper foot of the next adjacent element. In the operative position of the hold-down member, the elongated elements are disposed at about 45 degrees to the upper face of the screen, and their upper and lower feet are disposed parallel to the upper face of the screen.

The machine of the described embodiment further includes a lower plastic mat formed with a rectangular matrix of ribs defining large rectangular openings underlying and supporting the screen.

According to a further feature the chamber includes baffies preventing swirling of the water therein as it is exhausted by the suction pump. I

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a machine for the mechanical restoration of documents constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hold-down member in the machine of FIG. 1',

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the mounting for the screens; and

F IG. 4 is the top plan view along lines llllll of FIG. 1 illustrating the baffle arrangement in suction chamber.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The machine illustrated in the drawings comprises a housing 2 the base of which supports a suction pump 4 driven by a motor 6. The upper end of housing 2 supports a funnel-shaped vessel 8, e.g., of stainless steel, defining a chamber 10 having an outlet opening 12 coupled by pipe 14 to suction pump 4. The machine further includes a priming valve 18 (preferably electrically operated) for the pump, and a further valve 20 (preferably foot operated) for connecting the pump to chamber 10.

At the upper end of chamber 10, the housing is provided with a frame 22 which supports a plastic mat 24 formed with a rectangular matrix of ribs 26 defining large rectangular openings 28. A coarse metal screen 30 is supported on the upper face of plastic mat 24, and a fine metal screen 32 is supported on the upper face of the coarse screen 30. The fine metal screen 32 is larger than the coarse one 30 and its ends are supported by a frame 34 carried by housing 2.

A fine silk screen 36, on which the document 38 to be restored is placed, is laid on top of the fine metal screen 32.

A container or well 40 is hingedly mounted to housing 2 so as to be pivotable from an open position (not shown) permitting the operator to apply or remove the silk screen 36 and the document 38 carried thereby, to the closed position illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein the well overlies the previously introduced silk screen and document to be restored. Well 40 is adapted to contain the document-restoring composition mixed in water. An inflatable tube gasket 42 disposed around the circumference of the pivotable well 40 and the upper part of housing 2, provides a liquid seal to prevent leaking of the liquid composition. Any suitable means may be provided for hingeing the well 40 and for locking it in its closed position.

A hold-down member is provided to engage th upper face of the document to be restored and to firmly press it against the upper face of the fine metal screen 32. In the machine illustrated, this hold-down member is constituted of two'separate sections 44, 46, each pivotably mounted on a horizontal axis 48, 50 at one side of the well from an open inoperative position (shown in broken lines) to a closed operative position (shown in full lines), wherein the free ends of the sections are in abutting relation. In their operative position the sections engage the document and the silk screen 36, and firmly press them against the face of screen 32.

As shown particularly in F IG. 2, each hold-down section includes a plurality of spaced elongated elements or rods 52 extending parallel to the pivotable axis (48,50) of the respective section. Each of the elements 52 includes a lower foot 54 and an upper foot 56, the lower foot of each element underlying the upper foot of the next adjacent element. ln the operating (i.e.,

closed or horizontal) position of the hold-down section, the elongated elements 52 are disposed at about 45to the plane of the screens, while their lower and upper feet 54,56 are disposed parallel to the screens. The lower feet 54 engage the document 38 to be restored and its silk screen 36 and firmly press both against the upper face of the fine metal screen 32.

The hold-down sections 44, 46 may be pivoted in their open positions by means of handles 60,62 each carrying counterweights 64,66. Before these sections are opened, however, the well 40 had been previously filled with the document-restoring composition, as will be more fully described below. As the hold-down sections 44, 46 move to this inoperative position, their construction including the spaced elongated elements 52 and their feet 54, 56, cause the adhering liquid to drain to the sides of the sections, as shown by flow lines 70 in FIG. 1, and then to the sides of the well rather than drip downwardly onto the document in the middle of the well. Thus, the document being restored is not affected by the dripping of liquid from the hold-down sections when they are moved to their upper or inoperative position.

The machine is operated as follows:

First, well 40 is pivoted to its open position (not shown) whereby the operator has easy access to the screens 30, 42, supported on plastic mat 24. The operator places one (or more) of the documents to be restored on silk screen 36, which is in place on top of the upper, fine metal screen 32. Well 40 is then closed and locked in any suitable manner, and the tube gasket 42 is inflated to provide a liquid seal. Hold-down sections 44, 46 are pivoted to their closed positions to hold the document firmly against the screen, and well 40 is filled with water. The document-restoring composition is then introduced into the water within well 40 and is mixed e.g., by a manual paddle, to evenly disperse the mixture in the water. Pump 4 is then operated to apply suction to chamber 2 underlying the screens and the documents being restored, whereupon the liquid within well 40 is sucked through the documents and screens and exhausted through outlet 16. As soon as the suction is produced on the document, hold-down sections 44, 46 are manually pivoted to their upper or open positions, the water adhering to the section draining along flow lines to the sides of the well, rather than dripping into the center part of the well, as described above.

The suction is thus applied evenly to the complete surface of the silk screen 36 and the document 38 carried thereby, so that the document-restoring composition is directed only to the holes of the document and builds up a layer of the document-restoring composition therein.

It is important, in order to produce a homogeneously appearing product, that the liquid composition be as homogeneous as possible above the document, and that the suction applied below the document also be as homogeneous as possible. The arrangement and construction of the hold-down sections 44, 46 contribute to the former in causing the adhering liquid to drain from the sections to the sides of the well, rather than to drip onto the document in the middle of the well.

For producing a uniform suction at the lower surface of the document, suction chamber 10 is provided with a plurality of baffles, as shown at 72, FIG. 3, to prevent swirling or rotary motion of the liquid as it is exhausted through opening 12. It will be noted from FIG. 1 that the lower end of baffles 72 terminates above the exhaust opening 12, so as to provide a free space within chamber 10 between the suction opening 12 and the baffles 72.

After all the restoration composition liquid has been sucked through the silk screen and the documents carried thereby, suction pump 4 is turned-off, well 40 is pivoted open, and the silk screen 36 carrying the repaired document 38 is removed and applied to a drying v platen, not shown. After the restored document has been dried, it is removed from the silk screen.

As one example, the restoring composition may include one part of cellulose pulp by weight (dry) per four parts of a binder, such as polyvinyl acetate. This is mixed with the water in well 40 to produce about a 2 percent concentration of the above pulp-binder mixture in water. The plastic mat 24 may be of nylon providing a rectangular matrix of 10mm by 10mm square holes; coarse metal screen 30 may be of brass having 5mm holes; and fine metal screen 32 may be of 40 mesh brass.

It will be appreciated that the machine described herein may also be used for producing sheets of paper,- resembling hand-made paper, according to specification, i.e., of a particular fibre-content, thickness, color, etc. For this purpose, the silk screen 36 would not be included, and the paper would be built up directly on the metal screens.

Many modifications, variations and other applications of the illustrated embodiment will be apparent.

What is claimed is:

l. A machine for the mechanical restoration of documents, comprising, a housing having a chamber disposed therein, a screen over the upper end of the chamber and adapted to receive the document to be restored, a suction pump communicating with the chamber for applying a vacuum to the lower face of the screen, a well supported by the housing and overlying the screen for containing a liquid mixture of water and a restoring composition, and a hold-down member overlying the screen and movable through the well from an operative position engaging the upper face of .the document to be restored and pressing it firmly against the upper face of the screen, to an inoperative position disengaged from the document to be restored, said hold-down member being pivotable on a horizontal axis and including liquid-directing channels for directing the liquid adhering thereto to drain to the sides of said member and then to the sides of the well when the member is moved through the well from the operative position to the inoperative position, rather than to drip downwardly into the middle of the well.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said hold-down member comprises two sections each pivotably mounted on a horizontal axis at one side of the well from its inoperative position wherein the two sections are open, to its operative position wherein the two sections are closed with their free ends in abutting relatron.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said hold-down member includes a plurality of spaced elongated elements extending parallel to the horizontal pivotal axis of the hold-down member, each of said elements including a lower foot and an upper foot, the lower foot of each element underlying the upper foot of the next adjacent element.

4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein, in the operative position of the hold-down member, said elongated elements are disposed at about 45 degrees to the upper face of the screen, and their upper and lower feet are disposed parallel to the upper face of the screen.

5. A machine according to claim 1, further including a lower plastic mat formed with a rectangular matrix of ribs defining large rectangular openings underlying and supporting the screen.

6. A machine according to claim 5, wherein said screen includes a metal screen supported on said coarse lower plastic mat, and a fine metal screen supported on said coarse screen.

7. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said chamber includes baffles which prevent swirling of the water therein as it is exhausted by the suction pump.

8. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said well is pivotably mounted to the housing from an operative position over the screen to an inoperative position to facilitate placing the document to be restored on the 1 screen, there being a liquid seal between the housing and the well when the latter is in its operative position. 

1. A machine for the mechanical restoration of documents, comprising, a housing having a chamber disposed therein, a screen over the upper end of the chamber and adapted to receive the document to be restored, a suction pump communicating with the chamber for applying a vacuum to the lower face of the screen, a well supported by the housing and overlying the screen for containing a liquid mixture of water and a restoring composition, and a hold-down member overlying the screen and movable through the well from an operative position engaging the upper face of the document to be restored and pressing it firmly against the upper face of the screen, to an inoperative position disengaged from the document to be restored, said hold-down member being pivotable on a horizontal axis and including liquid-directing channels for directing the liquid adhering thereto to drain to the sides of said member and then to the sides of the well when the member is moved through the well from the operative position to the inoperative position, rather than to drip downwardly into the middle of the well.
 2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said hold-down member comprises two sections each pivotably mounted on a horizontal axis at one side of the well from its inoperative position wherein the two sections are open, to its operative position wherein the two sections are closed with their free ends in abutting relation.
 3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said hold-down memBer includes a plurality of spaced elongated elements extending parallel to the horizontal pivotal axis of the hold-down member, each of said elements including a lower foot and an upper foot, the lower foot of each element underlying the upper foot of the next adjacent element.
 4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein, in the operative position of the hold-down member, said elongated elements are disposed at about 45 degrees to the upper face of the screen, and their upper and lower feet are disposed parallel to the upper face of the screen.
 5. A machine according to claim 1, further including a lower plastic mat formed with a rectangular matrix of ribs defining large rectangular openings underlying and supporting the screen.
 6. A machine according to claim 5, wherein said screen includes a metal screen supported on said coarse lower plastic mat, and a fine metal screen supported on said coarse screen.
 7. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said chamber includes baffles which prevent swirling of the water therein as it is exhausted by the suction pump.
 8. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said well is pivotably mounted to the housing from an operative position over the screen to an inoperative position to facilitate placing the document to be restored on the screen, there being a liquid seal between the housing and the well when the latter is in its operative position. 